My first bow. (don't laugh)
So here is my first horn bow at least to this stage. 39" long so its a short bow. I was very impatient and strung it after a month. I just couldnt wait any longer. Next time I will hide it until I am ready to string it. Few questions. Should I keep it strung? Is the sound of cracking and impending doom a normal feeling and sensation when stringing. Also in the picture there are horizontal cracks in the sinew I think its either from the lack of humidity or the last pass of glue I placed after sanding. Should I do anything about this or just ignore it? lastly 39" bow is pretty short, what do you think the draw length should be? thanks any suggestions would be great. this is just the first attempt of many to come.
There is nothing to laugh about. The shape of the bow looks fine and the cracks in the glue should not give any trouble. It must be quite dry now in the winter, so the glue is brittle. There were flight bows as short as this bow. I'd go for up to 25 inch draw. For good performance, it is better to keep it un-strung.
Adam
Adam
thanks Adam I learned a lot from your book. I will keep trying to reach 25". here are a couple more picks i have. Its a bamboo core, Cyprus sal,
yew handle, horn, and sinew i made into a long strip before i applied.
yew handle, horn, and sinew i made into a long strip before i applied.
hey great work on that sinew. i want to do that too. any advice? how did you do it? how long was the sinew you started with ? thanks alot
Hey that was the first time I had ever attempted that and it turned out ok.
I used long elk backstrap sinew about 8 to 10" long. I brushed half the sinew with Fish glue about 1.5" wide and allowed it to gel which only took about 20 minutes. the only difficult part was splicing the additional sinew but once the sinew was combed and brushed with glue it had no problem becoming one. The splice also went over the handle so i wasnt too worried about it. Then I did the rest. Once completely gelled I laid it on the bow. Only advice is make sure your sinew is fine, and of equal lengths. also dont be afraid of using water to manipulate the sinew. hope that helps. thanks for the comments.
I used long elk backstrap sinew about 8 to 10" long. I brushed half the sinew with Fish glue about 1.5" wide and allowed it to gel which only took about 20 minutes. the only difficult part was splicing the additional sinew but once the sinew was combed and brushed with glue it had no problem becoming one. The splice also went over the handle so i wasnt too worried about it. Then I did the rest. Once completely gelled I laid it on the bow. Only advice is make sure your sinew is fine, and of equal lengths. also dont be afraid of using water to manipulate the sinew. hope that helps. thanks for the comments.